Twisted Games
by Havah Kinny
Summary: When Charlie's cover is blown, a twisted villain takes his brother, Jason, hostage, forcing Charlie to make a choice between family and doing his job as agent Aaron Stone.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N Hey - this chapter is more of a short introduction to see if this takes. I haven't written Disney fanfiction in awhile and I saw Aaron Stone for the first time...well, this plot just JUMPED at me. Let me know what you think, please!

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"Mmph." Jason let out a groan as he hit the mattress with a soft thud. He struggled, kicking his legs outwards, trying to catch one of his attackers and, if he was lucky, break the tape binding his ankles together. The thick cloth tied over the boy's eyes made his struggle even more difficult as he flailed about on the bed, unable to do much with his arms, legs or voice.

Jason pulled at his restraints a little harder as he was forced onto his stomach. He let out a strained growl as someone pushed on his upper back, holding him down while another man grabbed hold of his kicking legs, attempting to keep him still while a third man cut the tape from the boy's wrists. The second he felt the tape slice apart, Jason tried to yank his arms free, knowing that if he could have the use of just one hand, he might be able to make some progress.

His endeavor was futile, however, as a different man grabbed onto each of his wrists, dragging him into an upright sitting position on the bed while the third man continued to hold his legs steady. Jason's back was pushed up against the barred metal headboard of the double bed and the men holding his right arm pressed his wrist against one of the iron bars, securing it there with a plastic zip-tie. The man on his left side soon did the same and Jason felt his panic increase.

The men, satisfied with their restraints, let go of the boy, confidant that his arms were far enough apart that he would not be able to get his head close enough to either hand so as to remove the gag or blindfold. The third man snapped a steel cuff over Jason's left ankle, snapping the other cuff around the bed's footboard, greatly restricting his ability to kick.

Instantly, the teen began to tug at the ties on his wrists, but the plastic was sturdy and did nothing more than dig painfully into his sink as he pulled and pulled, trying frantically to get free. He moved his entire body as much as he could, trying to find a way out of his situation as fear gripped at him, cancelling out all rationality in Jason's mind.

"GGGGAARRMPH!" He cried, trying to push the thick red ball from his mouth. His tongue pressed against the slick rubber, but the ball didn't budge, the leather strapped behind his head was cinched way too tightly for Jason to succeed. So far, Jason's struggle had gotten him nothing more than a large tear in the right knee of his baggy jeans and the loss of two buttons on his short sleeved green button-down.

"Quit your screaming." Seconds after the harsh command was verbalized, it was backed up with a sharp slap to Jason's right cheek. "It's annoying." The man reached out and ripped the blindfold from Jason's eyes, letting the black fabric fall to rest around his neck. As Jason blinked several times, the man grabbed his chin, forcing Jason to look at him. "You don't want to piss me off," he growled. "Not if you want to live. Do you understand?"

Jason nodded, tears of pain, fear and confusion stinging at his eyes as the man squeezed the boy's chin. The man let go, pushing Jason's head to the side, and the boy uttered a whimper of pain as he looked down, trying to remain quiet as he ceased his struggle. He was beginning to realize that the fight was useless, but now, just sitting there, he felt completely and utterly helpless.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, Aaron Stone…or should I say, Charlie Landers." Charlie jumped as his computer screen was suddenly filled with a masked face.

"What the…" Charlie tried to turn the video off, but found that, no matter what he did, he could not get the image to leave the screen.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." The man smirked, an expression Charlie could see, even through the mask. "You see, if you hear me out, I think you'll find that you have a great interest in what I have to say."

"Alright, who is this?" Charlie asked, trying to hide the fear rising in his gut. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, but letting this man see his panic, that would make whatever the situation was even worse.

"That is unimportant." The man laughed. "What you need to know is that there comes a time in every hero's life when his cover is blown. When that day comes, everything in his life gets just a little more difficult." The man paused, but seeing as Charlie said nothing, soon continued. "On one hand, you are a man of the people."

The screen split in half and while the man's face moved to one side, a second image appeared, this one of a man and a woman, each looking to be in their late 20s or early 30s. They were both sweating profusely and gasping for air in what appeared to Charlie to be some kind of metal box.

"What are you playing at?" Charlie asked, looking with anger at the side of the screen showing the man.

"Hear me out, Charlie," the man said in a sing-song voice. "For the best part has yet to be explained."

"Fine." Charlie frowned, hating that he was taking the directions of the clearly criminal man who had managed to hack onto his laptop. "Continue."

"Oh goody." The man's smirk was back in place as he continued to speak. "On the other hand, you are a family man, are you not?" The man tilted his head and the screen split a second time, three images now visible.

"Jason…" Charlie gulped as he stared at the third video. Charlie's little brother was secured to a bed, gagged, and crying. Fear was evident in his expression and Charlie felt his stomach drop farther than it ever had before. There was a box on the bed beside Jason, red numbers counting down.

"Now I've got your full attention." The man smirked. "They," the man raised his right hand, gesturing towards the video of the strangers. "Have an hour's worth of oxygen left while he," the man raised his left hand, pointing towards Jason's video feed. "Has one hour before that bomb explodes. This time you can't save everyone." The man laughed mirthfully. "So who's it going to be, young hero? Him or them?" With that, the man disappeared from the screen, leaving the videos of the man, woman and Jason up on his computer.

"Emma!" Charlie practically shouted into the phone as his friend picked up.

"What is it Charlie?" Emma grumbled. "I was just about to go to sleep, you idiot!"

"Get over here, we've got a situation. NOW!"

"What is it?" Seconds later, Emma was at Charlie's side, STAN behind them.

"This." Charlie showed Emma the two videos, trying to keep his racing heart still, knowing that if he lost focus, all three lives could easily be ended.

"Is that…" Emma gulped as she looked at the screen.

"They've got Jason." Charlie nodded. "I have one hour, they want me to choose between those two strangers and my brother. I need you trace the feeds on both videos."

"Of course." Emma slipped a cable into the USB port on Charlie's computer, instantly attaching it to her own laptop. As she clacked away at the keys, Charlie wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plan. "Alright." Emma looked at Charlie only a couple of minutes later, though the time seemed like hours to the boy. "Jason is in apartment 12B of the Cedarwood Complex located at 145th and Seymour. The civilians are four feet underground at Kirkland Memorial Park, just under the swing set, at 7th and Cramer."

"145th and Seymour…" Charlie nodded. "I can get there on my bike in half an hour. You take STAN and the jet and you get that man and woman, I'm going after Jason."

"Charlie…" Emma looked at the boy. "Are you sure about this? That bomb could go off at any time, it's dangerous."

"I'm positive." Charlie nodded, grabbing his bicycle helmet. "I can't let those civilians die, but I've already lost my father, I can't lose another person that I care about; they can't have Jason away from me."

"Good luck, Charlie." Emma offered her friend a soft smile.

"Thanks." He nodded. "Just go, Emma." He took off, ignoring his mother's shouts asking him where he was going at such a late hour. He grabbed his bike from the garage and sped off in the direction of address that Emma had given him.

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_**A/N Thanks for reading through chapter two! I would LOVE some feedback, so if you have any of that, send it my way - also, if there's anything that you would like to see happen, let me know!**_

_**-Havah  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

His legs felt tired by the time he reached the apartment complex, but he had every will, every drive to keep going. The place was old, decrepit, falling apart, and to Charlie's slight relief, abandon, meaning that no one else would be caught in the explosion should the bomb go off. He searched frantically for apartment 12B, checking his watch as he raced through the hallway. He had 20 minutes left to find and rescue Jason before it was too late.

By the time he got to the 12's, he was out of breath, but he knew that he couldn't stop. He quickly located 12B and wasted no time kicking the door down. The room was just as it had appeared in the video, dark, dreary, with nothing but a bed in the center, a tripod pointing at it, and a battery operated lamp on a rusty bedside table, something Charlie was sure the kidnapper had put there to make the room bright enough to shoot his video.

"Jason…" Charlie rushed over to his brother, immediately pulling the gag from the boy's mouth.

"Charlie, the timer!" Jason practically screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks. Charlie looked at the bomb beside his brother, horrified to read that he only had two minutes left.

"No, that's not right!" Charlie shouted. "I was supposed to have an hour."

"You were." A voice came through the room, a voice Charlie recognized as belonging to the man who had contacted him initially. He couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from, as one glance around the room told him that he and Jason were alone, though it sounded as though it were coming from the vent. "But then you decided to cheat, send your team after the others. I told you, Aaron, you couldn't save everyone. Your friends managed to reach their target in time, but you? You won't get Jason out of this."

"Watch me," Charlie hissed, trying to ignore the voice.

"Charlie, just leave me!" Jason shouted, looking at his brother, panicked. "You heard him! It's a waste of time, just get out of here!"

"No, Jason, don't listen to him, alright?" Charlie pulled a knife from his backpack, cutting away the ties binding his brother to the headboard of the bed. "I'm going to get you out of here." He sliced the rope binding Jason's ankles, but froze momentarily as he eyed the cuff.

"Charlie, no." Jason shook his head, tears spilling from his eyes. "You've only got a minute left, don't waste it! RUN!"

"I'm not leaving you." Charlie crouched down at the foot of the bed, pulling out the corkscrew tool from his pocket knife. He inserted the pointy tip into the lock of the cuffs and began to twist it, trying to pick the tiny lock.

"Charlie…" Jason's voice was nervous, apprehensive and from the boy's tone alone, Charlie could tell that he was seriously running out of time. After what seemed like minutes, the lock clicked and Charlie pulled the shackle from his brother's ankle, not bothering to check the timer as he pulled Jason to his feet.

"GO!" He ordered, pushing Jason forwards. Jason broke into a run, followed closely by his brother. They were halfway down the stairs when Charlie heard a loud beeping. "Shit," he muttered. "FASTER!" He cried, picking up his own speed as he yelled at his brother.

_Ten. _

_Nine._

_Eight._

_Seven._

_Six._

_Five._

_Four._

_Three…_

"GET DOWN!" The second they were out of the building, Charlie tackled Jason, pushing him to the ground, shielding the younger boy's body with his own as a loud explosion filled the quiet night, the force pushing the boys forwards.

For seconds after the bomb, all was silent, though Charlie could feel Jason's body trembling beneath his own as he rolled off his brother. He lay there on the pavement, panting, eyes closed, his entire body hurting.

"Ch-Charlie?" Jason scooted closer to his brother, tears stopped, his entire body shaking with fear. His t-shirt was bloody and ripped, his face and clothes covered in dirt and ash. "Charlie?" he tugged on his brother's sleeve, eyes wide with fear.

"It's okay," Charlie whispered. "I told you I'd get you out of there." Charlie sighed, pulling himself into a sitting position, ignoring his own pain as he looked at his brother. "Are you…are you hurt?"

Jason just nodded, gulping back what was presumably more tears. Jason looked terrified and Charlie hated that. This was his fault – Jason's pain, his fear, his near death experience, none of that would have happened had Charlie made different life choices.

"Okay." Charlie nodded. "Where are you hurt?"

"I-I think my leg's broken," Jason whispered, pointing downwards at his right leg.

"Anywhere else?" Charlie asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"Cuts and scrapes," Jason replied softly. "It's mostly just the leg."

"Alright." Charlie hauled himself to his feet, ignoring his aching muscles as he reached down, lifting Jason into a fireman's carry.

"What happened, Charlie?" Jason asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he shivered in Charlie's arms. "Why…why?"

"Jason, that's a long story." Charlie sighed as he began to walk, carrying his brother, hoping to reach a place where he could call for help soon. His phone had been busted in the explosion and he assumed that, if Jason still had his on him, it had met the same fate.

"I'm scared," Jason whispered, burying his face in Charlie's chest.

"I know, and you have every right to be, but don't worry, alright? I've got you, you're safe now and I'm not going to let you get hurt again, alright?"

"What's going on, Charlie?" Jason asked. He knew that his brother had been keeping things from him since their father died, but he had never known that it was something that could get either of them hurt like this.

"I'll explain later, Jase, I promise." Charlie gulped. "You're not strong enough to handle it right now. You've had a rough day and this is going to take awhile."

"Alright.' Jason nodded, shaking as his brother moved towards what he hoped would be safety. "Charlie?"

"What is it, Jase?" he asked.

"Who…who tried to kill me?" The words left Jason's voice in a soft, quiet whisper as the boy looked up at his brother.

"I don't know, Jason," Charlie replied honestly. "But I intend to find out."

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**_A/N Alright! So this may seem like it's almost over, however, we still have a bad guy on the loose, so it's voting time! Would you like to see:_**

**_A. Charlie get the bad guy pretty much right away with the help of Emma and STAN._**

**_B. Jason finds himself in jeopardy again. _**

**_C. MASSIVE faceoff between Charlie and bad guy._**

**_D. Large game of Cat and Mouse in which Charlie, Emma and Jason spend a long time trying to strategically figure out who bad guy is. _**

**_E. Other (send me YOUR ideas)_**


End file.
